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Forever Loved
A/N: This is a little something I'm doing for Icy's contest. Hope you enjoy! (Oh, by the way? It's Moon here) Chapter One Tigerpaw stretched, yawning as the early morning sun filtered into the den through the thickly twined brambles. He glanced around. The other ShadowClan apprentices were still sleeping, buried deep in their nests in a futile attempt to shelter from the bitter leaf-bare cold. Tigerpaw rolled his eyes. Every cat was so lazy in leaf-bare. All of them--even the leader--just slept, all morning, instead of hunting for their Clan. Of course, Tigerpaw himself was much to noble to sleep in. No, he had to do what was best for the Clan. Besides, it would impress his denmates. He got to his paws, shaking his handsome ginger fur and padding out into the clearing. The dawn patrol was nowhere to be seen, and Tigerpaw snorted. Probably still snoozing in their nests. No matter. He would go and hunt for the Clan anyway. After all, in such cold weather, it wasn't like any rival Clans were going to be trying to steal prey or anything. He loped into the forest, feeling the soft pine needles under his paws. He loved the pine forest where ShadowClan lived. He felt a fierce rush of pride. ShadowClan was the best Clan ever! They were true warriors, often training and hunting in the dead of night. What other Clan could do that? He quickly scented a plump rabbit and pounced on it, snapping its neck easily. After burying it in the soft earth, underneath the layer of frozen pine needles, he continued on, deeper into the forest. As he got closer to the border, he scented something strange, and frowned, slipping into the shadows cast by the towering pine trees. He narrowed his eyes, his ginger fur blending in with the stray beams of sunlight that escaped the heavy cloud cover. Sure enough, a small, lithe shape was stalking a rabbit, even plumper then the one he had just caught. As the cold leaf-bare breeze twisted around the pines, he caugh a whiff of WindClan. His nostrils flared. A WindClan cat on ShadowClan territory? He felt a surge of anger--and of satisfaction. He'd catch the intruder and teach him a lesson, then go back to the camp, and tell everybody. That would get their attention. While they were all sleeping in their soft nests, Tigerpaw was out catching trespassers. He'd probably get his warrior name for it. But first, he had to catch the trespasser. With his superb fighting skills, it'd be easy. But still, a typical ShadowClan ambush would be even more fun then just straight-out fighting. He gave a hiss of truimph. The intruder was heading toward a thick clump of pines, which would be a perfect place to ambush him. Threading his way between the tall pines, Tigerpaw made sure to stay downwind of the intruder, not wanting to spoil the surprise. After all, what was the point of an ambush if the cat you were ambushing already knew you were there? By the time the intruder had reached the circle of pines, Tigerpaw was ready, crouching at the base of a crooked pine, prepared to scare the trespasser. To his surprise, the intruder seemed to have already caught the rabbit, and was now stalking a bird. Of course, ''he scolded himself, ''it's WindClan. All they're good at is hunting rabbits. Even kits know that. ''He shoke himself, realizing that the WindClan cat was in the perfect position for an ambush. Crouching down, he thought, ''prepare yourself for the scare of your life, you piece of crow-food. He leapt, letting out a blood-curdling yowl. The trespasser whirled around, fur bushing out in terror. With a jolt of shock, Tigerpaw realized that the intruder was a she-cat, and just barely managed to twist, landing heavily right beside her. He turned, giving her an accusing glare. "Those are ShadowClan rabbits." She winced, meeting his gaze bravely, since he was twice as big as she was. "I know." "Then why did you steal them?" he asked scornfully. As he waited for an answer, he let his amber eyes flick over her. She was actually quite pretty, with small, dainty paws, big liquid blue eyes, and shining ginger fur. What's more, she was giving him a defiant look, obviously not cowed by his superious strength or size. "WindClan is starving. We need this prey to survive. If I don't hunt here, then elders and kits will die," she spat angrily at him. He curled his lip at her. "Do you think I care? Besides, you're being pretty free and easy with the information, aren't you? How do you know that I'm not going to tell my Clan, so that we can raid WindClan?" She tossed her head. "I was assuming," she returned, stressing the word. "That you had a shred of deciency in you. I guess I was wrong." He growled. "Excuse me, but I'm not the one stealing ShadowClan prey." She returned his glare. "I told you. If I don't, my Clan will die." He rolled his eyes at her, relenting a tiny bit. After all, if his ''Clan was in danger, wouldn't he do the same? "Fine. I'll let you go, alive. You can even keep the stupid rabbit. But if I find you here again, then I'll take you to my camp." She blinked, looking shocked. "You're... letting me go? With the rabbit? I mean, thanks!" She tipped her head to side. "Why?" He couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. "Because," he meowed gruffly. "You obviously are pretty desperate, if you're willing to mess with me." She shrugged, grabbing the rabbit and racing off, quickly disappearing in the slooping brown moor. Tigerpaw turned, heading deeper into the woods, looking for prey. He felt guilty at letting her go, but he didn't know what else he could've done. She was just a foolishly brave apprentice, taking a risk for her Clan. Try as he might, he couldn't really blame her. He spotted a few birds, carelessly eating seeds, and leapt, killing them both easily. He picked them up, and padded back to where he had buried the rabbit, wanting to return to the camp before some cat noticed he was gone. 'Chapter Two' ''Littlepaw sped over the moor, her ''paws throwing up dirt and clumps of dead grass behind her. She couldn't stop thinking about the ShadowClan tom, wondering curiously why he had let her go. ''Stop it, Littlepaw, ''she berated herself. ''Don't wonder why. Just be glad for the blessing. Still, she couldn't help being curious. If she had found a cat from another Clan trespassing and stealing prey, she wouldn't have let them ''go so easily. But then againk, she was nothing like an arrogent tom from ShadowClan. That much was clear. She skidded to a halt, tossing the rabbit on the fresh-kill pile, before turning and racing back to the hills. One rabbit, no matter how plump, was not going to be enough to feed the Clan. Besides, she wanted to avoid any awkward questions about where she had found one so fat. She heard scratching just over the next hill, and slowed down, creeping forward cautiously. No sense running into unnecessary danger if she could help it. She peeked over the crest of the hill, and nearly startled the thin rabbit feasting some late-blooming clover. She smiled to herself. Two rabbits in one day. She bounced killing the rabbit so quickly that there was no need to chase it over the hills. She felt a pang of disappointment. Like all WindClan cats, there were few things that pleased her more then charging recklessly after rabbits. ''Oh, well, she reminded herself. Since you saved your strength, you can continue hunting. '' However, her short burst of goodluck seemed to be over. She didn't catch another whiff of prey, and had to return to the camp with only the thin rabbit to show for it. She dropped it on the fresh-kill pile--or rather, where the pile should be. She was pleased to see that the first rabbit she had caught was gone, but still wished she could've found more. Her best friend, Whisperpaw bounded up, her eyes widening with admiration when she spotted the rabbit lying by Littlepaw's paws. "Did you catch that?" she asked curiously. Littlepaw wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. It's not much, I know, but at least it's something." "It's perfect!" Whisperpaw declared. Littlepaw had never understood why Whisperpaw's name was Whisperpaw, since she was the most outgoing cat Littlepaw had ever met. "Perfect for what?" Littlepaw asked her. "The elders," Whisperpaw explained rapidly. "They wouldn't take the other rabbit-did you catch that one too?--because they said the queens needed it more, but they're obviously hungry." Littlepaw blinked, trying to process all the information Whisperpaw had delivered in her rapid-fire way. "Um... yeah." Whisperpaw's eyes grew bigger. "You ''did ''catch that rabbit? It was huge!" Littlepaw shook her head. "What?" "The rabbit?" Whisperpaw prompted. "Did you catch it." "Oh, that. Yeah, I did," Littlepaw meowed in relief. "Um, I'd better start hunting again..." she trailed off awkwardly, seeing the expression on Whisperpaw's face. "''Oh, that?" Whisperpaw mimicked, sounding astonished. "That ''fed all the queens! The apprentices even got a bite!" She paused. "Well, I did anyway." Littlepaw snorted. "There are only two apprentices. You and me. So if you got a bite, that's not the same thing as all the apprentices." Whisperpaw shrugged, having already moved on. "Anyway, are you going back out? I’ll come with you!" Stifling a yawn, Littlepaw nodded wearily. "Yeah, I guess I’d better. Come on, the sooner the better!" 'Chapter Three' Tigerpaw padded into camp, his jaws full of plump prey. He dropped them unceremoniously on the fresh-kill pile, feeling a twinge of guilt as he saw how many pieces there were, and thinking of WindClan, which was starving from lack of prey. ''Since when do you care about WindClan? he asked himself scornfully. They’re just a bunch of rabbit-chasers. You said so yourself this morning. Sighing loudly, he grabbed a frog from the pile, and padded toward a shady corner of the camp to eat it. He had barely sat down when his mentor marched up to him. "Oh, there you are! Where have you been?" Surprised by the sharp tone, Tigerpaw meowed. "Out hunting." "I can’t help but notice you didn’t tell anyone. The entire Clan has been looking for you," his mentor scolded him angrily. Tigerpaw shrugged. "Everyone else was asleep. How am I supposed to tell cats if they sleep in all morning?" His mentor glared at him. "You could try waiting until some cat woke up. I suppose you had a nice walk?" Yes, actually, I did, Tigerpaw retorted silently. "It doesn’t matter now. I’m back, and I caught plenty of prey. You’re just making a big fuss about nothing." His mentor eyes turned frosty. "When you’re done eating, go check the elders for ticks. Then report to me." Tigerpaw glared resentfully at his half-eaten frog. "Fine." Tigerpaw dumped the last of the moss by the tunnel, still feeling resentful. His mentor had been working him relentlessly all morning, without pause. "When you’re done with that, go offer to help the queens with the kits. Then we can do battle training." By that time, I’ll be too tired to do anything but sleep, Tigerpaw thought furiously. Dipping his head at Stoneheart, he muttered, "Sure." He stormed across the camp, heading toward the nursery. All he had done was go out for a hunt! Well, that and give valuable fresh-kill to an intruder, plus learn a secret that could very well end up aiding ShadowClan. Still, Stoneheart knew nothing about that, so as far as Stoneheart was concerned, there shouldn't be anything to punish him for! He frowned as he entered the nursery. That incident with the WindClan apprentice still bothered him. After all, it wasn't at all like him to just give away prey, nor to keep secrets about other Clans. He just barely missed stepping on a sleeping kit's tail, and shook his head in annoyance. There would be plenty of time to think about that later. Right now, he had a job to do--however unwillingly it was done. One of the queens, Shimmerpetal, raised her head wearily. "Can I help you?" Ignoring his frustration with an effort, he meowed pleasantly, "Just came to see if you would like some help with the kits." Blossomfur, another queen with dapple tortoiseshell fur, glanced at him quickly. "You ''want to help us?" Willowfoot purred with amusement. "Was this your idea, Tigerpaw?" He made a face. "No, it was Stoneheart's." Willowfoot's blue eyes twinkled. "That's what I thought." Blossomfur's whiskers twitched. "Well, all the kits are sleeping, so you can tell Stoneheart that there's no need for you to help us." Tigerpaw's eyes lit up. "Thanks!" Without waiting for a response, he turned and dashed back to the clearing. Shimmerpetal shook her head. "Honestly, young cats seem to think that their life's going to slip away if they don't run everywhere." Willowfoot nudged her gently. "As if you didn't do the same thing when you were his age." Blossomfur purred. "Hush! You'll wake the kits!" All three queens exchanged amused purrs, then settled back down to sleep. 'Chapter Four' ''Littlepaw hesitated, lingering around the ShadowClan ''border, hoping for a glimpse of Tigerpaw. As soon as the realization of what she was doing crossed her mind, then she jerked away, turning away from the border angrily. ''What's gotten into me? ''she demanded mentally. ''I know better then to try to start something with a tom from another Clan! Whisperpaw bounded up, thankfully having darted away to catch a rabbit, so hadn't noticed Littlepaw's brief reluctance to leave the ShadowClan border. "Look at what I caught!" she meowed excitedly, dangling the skinny rabbit in front of Littlepaw. "Do you think we'll get to eat it?" Littlepaw shrugged. "Probably not. There are other cats who need it more." Whisperpaw dropped it with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just that I've barely eaten anything recently." Littlepaw's stomach rumbled in agreement. "At least you got a bite of the rabbit I caught earlier! I haven't eaten anything all day!" Whisperpaw head-butted her friend affectionately. "Sorry, I forgot. Well, I'll make sure you can have some of this rabbit, even if I have to go through the leader to do it!" Littlepaw purred. "Thanks, Whisperpaw. But I don't think you'll have to; he does have to make sure we stay alive!" Whisperpaw nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right..." Littlepaw snorted with laughter. "You suppose? ''He's our Clan leader, for StarClan's sake! Of course he has an obligation to keep us safe and alive!" Whisperpaw prodded her with a paw. "I know that, silly. I was just teasing you!" "Teasing doesn't catch any prey, you know," some cat pointed out conversationally. Littlepaw and Whisperpaw both jumped, spinning around. Behind them, just barely on ShadowClan territory, Tigerpaw was lounging against a tree, watching the two she-cats. Littlepaw's fur fluffed out with embarrassment, and she tried to remember if she had said anything that she would regret. As soon as she had reassured herself that she hadn't, her embarrassment melted away, to be replaced by anger. What right did Tigerpaw have to just watch her? Making sure to keep her voice frosty, she meowed, "What are you doing?" Tigerpaw shrugged lazily, his eyes glinting arrogantly, just as they had the last time she had run into him. "Taking a break from hunting." ''Couldn't that cat stay away? This was the second time we've met, just in one day! Littlepaw thought, resolving that after they got away, she would stay far away from the ShadowClan border. To be continued...